With regard to known Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS) features, a MBMS user service can be provided by one of a plurality of MBMS bearer services.
For example, in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) scenario an MBMS bearer service can make use of several MBMS Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearers and each of which is specific to a particular media stream, i.e. different traffic type such as Voice over IP Multimedia Subsystem (VoIMS) and realtime gaming. Such spreading of the media streams across the MBMS EPS bearers helps to achieve the required radio bearer Layer 2 Quality of Service (QoS).
Typically therefore, a streaming MBMS user service is carried on one MBMS EPS bearer for the video media stream and on another MBMS EPS bearer for the audio media stream.
Also, LTE QoS and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) QoS are known to have different granularities which further provides for the spreading of the different media stream. For Example, within UMTS QoS, four different media classes exist comprising conversational, streaming, interactive and background and an MBMS streamer user service requirements can be fulfilled by way of an MBMS steaming bearer service.
With regard to LTE QoS, two classes exists comprising Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) and non-GBR and the MBMS streaming user service requirement can be fulfilled by way of a GBR bearer for example, for speech media, and a non-GBR bearer for example for video media.
Also, at the time of Radio Access Technology (RAT) handover to, for example, E-UTRAN for a MBMS service, it is realized that many MBMS contexts may exist. In such a scenario, the Core Network (CN) is arranged to re-establish the bearers in the target E-UTRAN system in the direction of the mobile radio communications device User Equipment (UE). Each MBMS context is mapped to one MBMS EPS bearer and on the basis of QoS mapping that can be performed by the Mobile Management Entity (MME) during the 3GPP RAT handover. Then, upon handover to the E-UTRAN, the MME can be required to re-establish the multiple ongoing bearers due to the previously established, QoS mapping.
Currently, the signaling arising between the network and the UE provides for a sequential establishment of MBMS bearer services, or indeed the MBMS EPS bearers so that the various media steams and contexts are established sequentially.
Such sequential signaling also arises during reconfiguration and release of the multiple MBMS EPS bearers.
Such known method of operation has a disadvantageous effect on MBMS service reception and also leads to potential signaling overhead in the EPS system, for example at the E-UTRAN and S1 interfaces.